


Kids Like These

by Loukana



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Black Mask, Boys In Love, Coffee Dad Sakura Sojiro, Father-Son Relationship, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Sakura Sojiro, M/M, Sojiro is best dad, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22528405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loukana/pseuds/Loukana
Summary: Really, can the kids get any more obvious?-----Sojiro is grudgingly dragged into teenagers' drama when Akira brings his new friend to Leblanc. Between the kids pining madly after each other and all this Phantom Thieves' business, he's getting more gray hairs by the day.God, he's too old for this shit...(An AU where Akechi never set foot into the Metaverse.)
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren & Sakura Sojiro, Kurusu Akira & Sakura Sojiro, Persona 5 Protagonist & Sakura Sojiro
Comments: 48
Kudos: 1047
Collections: Marigolds Discord Recs, Quality Persona Fics





	Kids Like These

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [Marudyne's comic](https://marudyne.tumblr.com/post/164585596979/akechi-bikes-all-the-time-yet-somehow-still-meets) and her Goro "Pines-Madly-After-Akira" Akechi.
> 
> I just wanted to write a small fic with the boys being utterly smitten with each other, without the drama of the Phantom Thieves identity/pancakes revelation tainting their relation... well, at least at the beginning… :-)

The first time Sojiro notices something, it's on a Sunday morning, while he's preparing the shop for opening. Akira sits at the counter, eating his breakfast. Or he should be. Instead, his eyes are stuck to the screen of his phone.

It's a familiar sight. The kid always seems to be on that damn device these days, chatting with his friends, exchanging funny photos and little faces made of characters and symbols. But today, it's not his usual rapid-fire texting. Instead, the kid is mostly staring at the screen, frowning and biting his lip, tapping a few letters before erasing them and staring again. The careful wording and editing are unusual enough, but Sojiro isn't really concerned about whatever teenage drama this is about.

"Would you just put the damn phone away? Your food is getting cold. You can harass your friends later."

Akira grumbles and the phone returns to his pocket while he literally inhales his plate of curry, but it doesn't erase the pensive look on his face while he finishes his plate. As soon as he's done, he drags himself upstairs, nose stuck to the screen again.

He's been a bit in the clouds ever since his class went on that school trip to the TV station last week, and Sojiro's not sure what's going on in that head of his, but it's not his problem as long as the kid's staying out of trouble and doing okay in his studies.

Still, for the next half-hour, Sojiro hears him pace in the attic, the floorboards creaking under his footsteps, followed by long pauses. The pacing grows more agitated by the minute, until suddenly, there's a flurry of activity upstairs. Sojiro, a cigarette in his hand and an eyebrow raised, listens to the sound of clothes being pulled from a cardboard box, more pacing, more sounds of clothes being pulled out and thrown around, until ten minutes later, he hears a stampede coming down the stairs. Akira emerges in the — thankfully empty of customers — café, hair even more in disarray than earlier, his face full of eagerness and impatience. He stumbles on one foot at the bottom of the stairs, pulling on stylish red sneakers with twitchy hands, and the next moment the kid is rushing towards Leblanc's door.

Sojiro can't resist from teasing him. "Oh, going on a date?"

"What?…" Akira pauses on his way, surprise and embarrassment on his face, while his hand cards through his hair and leave it even more bedraggled than before. "No… just meeting a friend."

"Oh." He can feel his eyebrow rise a bit higher, taking note of the casually pulled-up sleeves of his usual jacket, the printed shirt underneath — different from the one he wore earlier, and nicer — and the kid's febrile impatience. "Well, have fun, then."

"Will do. Bye, Boss." And Akira is gone with a jingle of the doorbell, steps hasty as he hurries towards the train station. Sojiro chuckles, shakes his head and soon forgets about it.

* * *

Akira is leaving a bit earlier these mornings.

Usually, he lazes in bed for the longest time, and Sojiro has to call him a few times before he finally gets up. The kid always goes through his morning routine in a rush and leaves just in time to catch the 7:53 train, the one that allows him to arrive at school one minute before the bell. But nowadays, he's up earlier, and he still rushes, but to catch the 7:42 train, the one that forces him to wait at Shibuya for fifteen minutes for his commute to Aoyama-Itchome. Sojiro can't figure out why.

He also comes back to Leblanc later in the evenings.

Sojiro set up a curfew early on, but except for some afternoons spent with his friends, Akira usually comes back long before dark. These days though, he stays out almost every day, only coming back when the sun is about to set. At first, Sojiro worries the kid is up to no good, hanging out with delinquents or something. But Akira keeps to his respectful attitude and doesn't fuss when Sojiro asks for his help in the kitchen. He's lazy, just like any teenager his age, often lost in thoughts, but a good kid nonetheless, and Sojiro has a hard time believing he spends his afternoons roaming the streets and tagging walls. The change in his routine is curious, just like the dreamy look he often gets when he comes back in the evening, but he seems trustworthy enough that Sojiro leaves him be.

* * *

Two weeks later, that's when he finally meets the cause of such a change in the kid's schedule and demeanor.

When Akira comes back from school that afternoon, the difference in attitude is obvious. For once, he looks wide awake, eyes bright and alert behind his glasses. He's not slouching either, he's standing with his spine straight, hands out of his pockets, and with none of the constant laziness that usually causes him to drag his limbs like dead weights. He's smiling, too, and exuding restlessness and excitement from every pore.

And there's another boy trailing behind him.

His face is familiar, but Sojiro can't quite place it. But still, the boy is perfectly polite, greets him formally and introduces himself as Goro Akechi — ah, the detective boy from the TV — and that's where their conversation ends because Akira seizes his whole attention by grabbing an apron and pestering him with questions about what type of coffee he usually likes, and Akechi's eyes don't let go of him for the rest of the evening.

Sojiro notes the earnest smile on Akira's face as he darts back and forth between the kitchen and the counter like an eager puppy, and the captive look in the other teenager's gaze as he follows Akira's every movement, eyes slightly widened as if to take in everything. The familiar banter between them, each teasing quip underlined with something that sounds suspiciously close to fondness, and how they seem too focused on one another to take notice of what's going on around them. The way Akira leans on the counter after serving the cup of coffee to his friend, and the way the other one smiles in gratefulness, thanks him in a soft voice, and hums in delight at the first taste, and how Akira radiates happiness at the reaction…

 _…Oh boy,_ Sojiro thinks while holding back a sigh. They're so obvious it's almost painful to watch.

It's the first time he's seen the kid like that, his whole attitude and expression open. Even with his two friends from Shujin, he's usually more reserved, not distant per se but simply quieter, more placid. But here, with the other boy, it's like a switch has been flipped, and Akira forgot to try and act all mature and aloof and indifferent, instead tripping over his own two feet in his eagerness for approval during the entire evening.

Later, as the other teen takes his leave, Akira escorts him to the door, and they trade quiet words in the embrasure. Both are once again focused on one another, unconsciously leaning towards each other, and as quiet as their voices are, they still reach Sojiro's ears.

"Thank you for inviting me, your coffee was wonderful…" The new kid says, a light blush on his cheeks, and Akira earnestly replies: "You too… ah I-I mean, thank you too! For coming here…"

It's all Sojiro can do not to groan out loud.

* * *

Both kids are head over heels in love, that's for sure, even if they don't seem to realize it yet. 

They're always glued together, and when they're not, Akira's gaze is miles away, usually with a dumb little smile at the corner of his lips. Just like now, as he folds and unfolds the dishcloth for the third consecutive time. And earlier, Sojiro saw him unconsciously brush his thumb along the edge of Akechi's cup before he went to wash it.

Akechi is usually a bit more dignified than Akira, but he pines just as much. He spends many of his evenings watching Akira and covertly begging for his attention with tidbits of trivia and questions. One Sunday, he comes to the café early, and spends the rest of the morning completely entranced by the clavicle peeking out of the too wide collar of Akira's nightshirt.

Their awkward flirting is _really_ painful to watch. The both of them are too proud to make things easy, too, and it's a constant back and forth of advances and retreats on both sides, like some strange dance between the two of them as they try to make sense of their feelings for each other. In the meantime, Sojiro can only avert his gaze and act as if he hasn't caught them trading doe-eyed stares across the bar.

Weeks go by like this, and Sojiro has half a mind to just sit the both of them in a booth and have a serious talk with them, when things finally come to a head.

* * *

As he comes back from some grocery shopping and enters Leblanc one evening, there's a scrambling sound coming from one of the booths, and Akira almost jumps out of it, red-faced and with wide eyes that refuse to look in Sojiro's direction. "H-hi you're back! I-I'm gonna wash the dishes!…" And not a second later, he's retreated back to the kitchen, shoulders hunched over the sink, brushing the mugs with unneeded energy.

When Sojiro slips behind the counter, he can see Akechi is here too, of course, sitting prim and proper at the booth, looking for all the world as if nothing happened. Except his cheeks are as red as Akira's, fingers clenched around each other's on the table, and he too refuses to look Sojiro in the eye.

Sojiro is not blind, he can perfectly guess what he just interrupted, and he can't help but feel bad. The crestfallen expressions that creeps on both the boys' faces now that the panic is ebbing away is proof enough. Had he come back a minute later, it might have been okay, but it's clear that his badly timed arrival interrupted them just before a crucial moment.

He sighs softly. God, he really messed up. No way he can just walk out and give them a few minutes. A missed opportunity is a missed opportunity, and he remembers enough of his first kiss to know he's definitely broken the mood that was building up to it here. The boys won't look at each other, guilt and apprehension permeate the air, and Akechi soon excuses himself and takes his leave.

He just hopes they won't lock themselves up in their own thoughts, over-analyzing the moment and drawing false conclusions. Teenagers and their drama…

* * *

Of course they over-analyze the moment. In the following days, the kid errs like a lost soul in the café, gaze painful and distant, visibly stuck in a spiral of doubt and self-depreciation. Akechi hasn't shown up ever since that evening, and Akira jumps each time his phone vibrates with a panicked expression, which turns into a mix of relief and disappointment when he checks the caller ID. 

He knows it's not his place to interfere, but he's had enough of the kicked puppy attitude.

"Kid."

Akira raises mournful eyes towards him from his cup of coffee, and Sojiro sighs. 

"Stop moping like this, it won't do any good to either of you. You should talk to him. Invite him for a lunch."

There's a moment of panic in Akira's eyes, before he regains control of his expression. "…Who?"

"Come on, don't give me that." Sojiro grumbles. "You and that other kid were joined at the hip not a week ago. Disagreements between friends are normal, but you need to talk it out instead of letting it fester like that."

Akira sighs and deflates like a balloon. "I… I don't know… I'm not sure he wants to talk to me right now."

"Maybe he thinks _you're_ the one who doesn't want to talk to him."

" _Everyone_ wants to talk to him…" Akira replies morosely. "And he hates people who are always asking for his attention."

"Oh, alright, then it must mean he has no problem being the one who reaches out first, in this case."

There's a long silence as Akira ruminates over the words, brows furrowed, and he looks at his phone hesitantly.

"Talk to him." Sojiro says once again, voice quieter. "Kid's probably hoping you make the first move, if that's what he's always been taught to expect..." And with that said, Sojiro returns to the pot of curry brewing in the kitchen, and a minute later, he hears the kid climb the stairs to his room.

He doesn't hear anything for almost an hour, except for the occasional pacing, but as he starts closing the shop for the day, the sound of a muffled voice finally reaches him, speaking softly on the phone, and Sojiro leaves the café feeling a bit lighter.

* * *

Akechi finally comes back to Leblanc the next evening, gaze averted, polite smile firmly on his face — barely hiding the anxiousness underneath — as he thanks Akira for his invitation. After a long day of watching Akira in a constant state of panic and restlessness, it's a relief to finally see him and the other kid sit at one of the booths, facing each other despite the tension that suffocates the air. Sojiro bring them two cups of coffee and two plates of curry, before he retreats to the kitchen and leaves them alone to hash out their feelings.

They're talking in their little corner of the café, voices low, too low to be heard over the sound of the TV. Sojiro can only hear snippets of words, said in slightly shaking voices. The emotion he can glimpse on both their faces is a mix of apprehension and longing, and Akira's hand rests just alongside Akechi's own on the tabletop, thumb slightly pressed against the leather glove of the other boy.

He leaves them a moment to go buy a pack of cigarettes. When he comes back, the kids are still where he left them, but they're leaning a bit closer to each other, expressions more hopeful than anxious, and Akechi's gloves have disappeared.

He closes the shop earlier that evening. When Akechi worries and stammers over his extended stay, Sojiro brushes him off gruffly.

"Don't worry, I'm not kicking you out. The both of you can stay as long as you want, just make sure to lock the door when you leave."

He almost cringes at the sudden nervousness that overcomes both boys' expressions, a nervousness that can't fully brush away the spark of thrill in their eyes, as he leaves them alone with each other.

* * *

During the evening, a hoot of victory resonates from Futaba's room.

Sojiro raises his head from his crossword at the sound, a bit worried, but it seems everything is alright, according to the squeals of happiness that come from the room upstairs. Something good must have happened in the latest episode of the series she's been engrossed with lately. Sojiro shakes his head with a chuckle and goes back to his magazine.

* * *

The next morning, as Sojiro prepares the shop for the Sunday crowd — as if there's a chance of anything more than the regulars today — the kid slithers down the stairs, awkward and strange in his attitude. Instead of sitting down at his usual seat while Sojiro prepares his plate of curry, he hovers quietly at the counter.

"Hum, can I eat in my room today?" He asks sheepishly, eyes not quite meeting Sojiro's.

Sojiro takes one look at him and sighs before taking a second plate from the shelf. "…Tell him to come down too. He can at least have breakfast with us."

A minute later, Akechi emerges from the stairs, gingerly following Akira, and the two of them sit at the bar like naughty children waiting to be scolded, not daring to touch their food or look at him. Sojiro almost rolls his eyes.

"You kids' doing alright now?"

There's a long silence as they glance at each other, until Akira relaxes and mumbles with a shy smile. "Err... yeah... yeah we are."

"Good. Now eat up while it's still hot."

He busies himself with the dishes while they finally begin their breakfast, and pretends not to notice when they reach for each other and hold hands behind the bar.

Later, after they're gone to spend the day together, Sojiro goes upstairs to grab a new bag of beans, and throws a quick glance towards the kid's bed. One of the couch's pillows has migrated to it and is now squashed between the wall and Akira's own pillow. Sojiro scratches his head and sighs, feeling a mounting dread in his guts at the incoming discussion he's going to have with the kid.

* * *

That evening, when Akira is back from wherever he went with his boyfriend, Sojiro casually asks. "So. How was your date?"

The kid has worked up an appetite, and is wolfing down his dinner as if he hasn't eaten in days. But at the question, he sheepishly stops stuffing his face, swallows, and replies hesitantly. "Hm. It was nice. We… huh… went to the movies."

"Oh. Cool. Good movie?"

A dreamy smile glances Akira's lips and he looks away. "Huh, yeah. Yeah, it was great."

Meaning he probably has no idea what the movie was about, as the both of them were most likely too busy sucking on each other's face to glance at the screen. Sojiro holds back a cringe and hurries to think of something else.

"Good, good. You did anything else?"

"Yeah. We... hum... We went to a bakery, after."

"Oh." A safer topic. Good. He smiles encouragingly. "I hope you were a proper gentleman and invited him?"

"Yes!" There's a small glint of pride in the kid's eyes, before he adds. "Well, he paid for the cinema, so I figured it was the least I could do..." He shrugs. "Anyway, we stayed a while. Ate some cakes, talked a lot."

"Good. That's good. You keep talking to each other, alright? Communication is important."

Akira nods quietly, the dreamy smile still on his face, and Sojiro hates popping that bubble of happiness, but some things need to be said, and he's the only one who can do it for the kid. So, in a gruff voice, he forces the words out despite how uncomfortable they make him feel. "And… huh… remember to use protection, okay?"

Akira makes a sudden noise of distress and looks at him with a betrayed expression, red spreading across his face all the way to his ears.

"We're not!… I mean!… If it's about last night, we just slept, we haven't done anything…"

Oh no. No no no, he doesn't want to even think about the details. Akira's guilty gaze is as explicit as the unspoken "yet" in his sentence, and Sojiro cuts him off with a hasty gesture. "And I don't want to hear about it! About what you do or don't do with your friend, it's your problem, not mine! I just want to make sure you're doing well and that you stay in good health, okay? Whatever you kids are up to, you're both old enough to figure it out, so… you do whatever you do, as long as you stay safe, alright?"

"Y-yeah…"

Akira's eyes are drilling holes in the wooden counter, and Sojiro figures with a sigh that half the words he said just went from one ear to the other, because the kid is too mortified to have listened to anything he said. Well, at least he hopes the core of the message went through. No way he's having a repeat of this traumatizing discussion.

He still leaves a small box of condoms on the third step of the stairs the day after, just for his sake of mind, and the both of them never mention it. Ever.

* * *

In the following weeks, Akira looks happier by the day.

Ever since he arrived in April, the kid always carried himself around as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Not surprising, given the way his parents had all but thrown him out, and the reputation that had preceded him and ostracized him from his peers. Social pressure can be brutal, especially at his age, and everything from his hunched shoulders, to the reflective glasses, to the quietness and aloofness, had screamed defensive attitude from the start. The kid he had welcomed to Leblanc had been a mess, wary like a beaten dog, barely hiding the trauma under a withdrawn attitude.

But nowadays, Akira carries himself taller, prouder. He's changing, subtly, seems to be more at ease in his skin, as if he has ceased to be afraid of what people think of him. He doesn't wear his glasses anymore when he's at Leblanc, and the elder customers chuckle and pat the boy's cheeks, saying how much more handsome he looks without those glasses hiding his eyes.

Akechi himself is not immune to that change. His smiles seem to become more earnest by the day too, the plastic politeness ebbing away to be replaced by heartfelt longing and honest happiness. He keeps gazing at Akira as if he's become his entire world, and under those garnet eyes' scrutiny, Akira thrives and smiles more and more.

Amazing, what being the sparkle in someone's eyes can do to a broken kid.

* * *

Akira's merry band of friends grows by the day. First his two classmates, two blond heads as chatty as Akira is quiet, bickering like siblings but with earnest smiles and bright enthusiasm. Then that strange boy from Kosei, that trails behind them like a curious puppy. Always his head in the clouds, that one. And then there's the polite girl, who is apparently Niijima's younger sister. She seems a good influence to have around the kids. Oh, and the cat, too. He almost seems part of their group, with the way Akira and his friends talk to it sometimes.

They often gather at Leblanc for study sessions or to relax together. Sojiro grumbles, but doesn't mind so much. It brings some life to the old café, and he prefers to have them here, under his supervision, than wondering what the kids are up to all day. Sometimes, they take over one of the booths and spread textbooks and pencils everywhere. But mostly, they retreat to Akira's room with furtive glances and talk in hushed voices upstairs. It makes Sojiro smile. You'd think they were part of some conspiracy with how secretive they are.

Today seems to be study session instead of teenagers secrets, as they're all gathered in their usual booth, grumbling and chatting over their homework. Everything is going well, until Akechi arrives.

Sojiro greets him with his usual "Hey kid," and Akechi replies with his usual "Good day, Sakura-san," before tuning to greet Akira with a fond smile. But in the booth, Akira has tensed, and the whole group is staring at Akechi with wary glances.

"What's he doing here?" Akira's blond friend whispers, hostility evident in his tone, and loud enough that Akechi's smile becomes a little more plastic, a little less sincere.

As far as Sojiro is aware, this is the first time both sides of Akira's life have met like this. He pretends not to eavesdrop, but the tension in the room sits heavy in his guts, and he's ready to intervene if something turns sour.

Akechi gathers himself, then takes his usual seat at the counter and waves a lazy hand in the group direction. "Oh, don't mind me, I didn't know Akira had friends over today. I'm sorry if I intruded on your study session."

The wary glances turn towards Akira when Akechi says his name, and the kid subtly hunches over under the bewildered stares of his friends.

"You know him?" Niijima's sister asks carefully.

"Err, yeah…" Akira says, not meeting their eyes. "We met a few times ever since we talked at the TV station."

The kids' expressions become worried, and they send subtle glances towards Akechi, before the blond kid frowns and rises from his seat.

"Dude, we need to talk. In private."

Akechi still smiles, but there's an edge to it as he details the other boy, and stares at the hand Sakamoto has clasped around Akira's arm as he drags him towards the stairs, soon followed by the rest of the group.

Sojiro watches them disappear upstairs, and on the other side of the counter, Akechi closes himself off like a barnacle.

* * *

"You shouldn't keep secrets from your friends, you know?"

"I know," Akira replies morosely.

"That goes for your boyfriend too."

"Yeah…"

Akira sits at the counter, dejectedly twirling a strand of hair between his fingers. On the other side of the bar, Sojiro watches him while he wipes the mugs and plates from the group's study session. Everyone has left. Akechi only stayed long enough to have a cup of Sojiro's coffee, and took his leave before the other kids could come back downstairs.

And God, now he has an angsty teen on his arms. Again. Sojiro sighs. Might has well take care of it now.

"What happened exactly?"

The kid shrugs, and stays silent for a while, before he says haltingly. "It's just… Ryuji and the others, they don't like Goro much, because of what he says on TV about the Phantom Thieves. They're… huh… huge fans, you know. So, I didn't tell them I was seeing him. I didn't want to make them upset, or let them think I was "conspiring with the enemy"…"

"Some good idea that was," Sojiro quips, and the kid groans and let his head fall against the wooden counter.

"I know... I shouldn't have kept him a secret from them."

"No, you shouldn't have. Hope you learned your lesson."

Akira hums wearily. They stay silent for a while, before the kid finally gathers his courage and mumbles:

"Goro didn't respond to any of my texts..."

With a snort, Sojiro goes to put away the dishes. "Are you surprised? The kid's angry with you."

"What?" Akira seems honestly surprised. "Why is he angry? It wasn't him I hid the truth from. And he left before I could even explain the situation." And look at how sullen his expression has become. Sojiro would have pitied him if he didn't want to shake some sense into the kid.

"Seriously?" He retorts in a flat tone. "Did you put yourself in his shoes for one second?"

At Akira's befuddled look, he lets out a long-suffering sigh. "What's wrong with kids these days? I swear, we weren't nearly as hopeless when we were young..."

Before Akira has the chance to protest, Sojiro slams the dishcloth to the counter and starts explaining. "Look. He usually has your full attention when he comes here. Now, he comes in, and you're hanging out with other people, people who don't like him and to whom you never mentioned him. And what do you do? You immediately tense and try to downplay your relationship with him. And then, you go on a secret meeting with your friends to obviously talk about him behind his back?… No wonder he took it badly."

The kid looks guiltier by the second as the impact of his actions finally catches to him.

"Shit... shit..."

"Language," Sojiro tuts with a frown, and the kid looks appropriately chastised, before he asks in a small voice.

"...What should I do?"

Sojiro scoffs. "Apologies would be a good start. Explanations about your behavior should come next. And for God's sake, don't keep secrets from him."

Akira nods quietly, but the last words make him tense, and the kid starts pulling at a tuft of hair nervously.

"What if there are some things I can't talk to him about?"

"Come on," Sojiro replies distractedly, already done with the conversation. "The kid's been head over heels in love with you since the start. You should have a little more faith in him. You can't have a good relationship without putting some trust in your partner."

Akira doesn't seem convinced, but at least he's thinking about it. That's good. It must be hard for him to trust others, with everything that happened to him. The kid has been badly burned, especially by the adults around him, and it would be good for him to confide in someone else, especially someone his own age. And whatever's Akira's secret, he hopes the kid will one day trust Sojiro enough to feel safe to confide in him too.

* * *

They reconcile. His friends grumble about it, but Akira stands his ground and doesn't let himself be pressured by them. He is more confident day by day, and Sojiro can't help but feel proud of him.

Akechi is wary at first, but slowly relaxes, and even comes to their study sessions once or twice. The others are cautious around him, but they grudgingly accept him in their group, and eventually they start smiling at him and laughing with him, still a little nervous but more sincere as the days go by.

Futaba comes out of her room and out of her shell, and starts hanging out with them, too. She squeals and stares mutely and blushes a lot around Akira and Akechi at first, and Sojiro is having a hard time restraining the paternal instinct that wants him to grab the both of them by the collar and tell them not to look at her funnily, or else. But she settles after a while, and the kids only have eyes for each other anyway, and the relief of not having to deal with a teenage girl's crush or unwanted suitors is enough that he gives them the go-ahead to bring her on their expedition to the beach.

There's a new girl who joins their study group, a sweet thing that Sojiro can't help but grow fond of. She brings him homegrown vegetables and talks coffee beans and recipes with him. That girl is a treasure.

...He finds a card while cleaning Futaba's room.

* * *

The kid is a Phantom Thief. Their leader, even.

God dammit.

What the hell did he not understand when Sojiro told him to keep his head down?!

"I'm not sorry." Akira's gaze holds a fire that Sojiro rarely glimpsed in his usually calm eyes. "I don't regret standing up for my friends and for people who aren't able to fight back. I'm not stopping."

Sojiro slams a hand against the table, but Akira doesn't give in. In a desperate bid to pull him from such a situation, he hisses and threatens and begs, but the kid is stubborn, and he sticks to his convictions like glue. Sojiro is the first one to relent, because he knows, deep down, that Akira is right, and no matter how much Sojiro is afraid for him, he knows the kid wouldn't be able to face himself in the mirror if he turned his back on victims of injustice like he himself was. So Sojiro caves in, and instead asks him to be careful, to watch out for Futaba, and make sure the both of them knows that he has their backs, no matter what.

But moreover, there is one, important, very dangerous question he has to ask.

"…Does he know?"

He doesn't have to say a name. The both of them know perfectly well who Sojiro is talking about.

"Not yet. I still plan to tell him."

"No," Sojiro cuts him off immediately. "Forget about what I said about keeping secrets. This one is too dangerous to risk it."

Akira holds his gaze, and the determination in his eyes stirs another wave of fear in Sojiro's guts.

"He's my boyfriend."

"Your _detective_ boyfriend, who swore on TV to catch the dangerous Phantom Thieves and drag them to face justice!"

"You said I was supposed to trust him. And I do. With my life."

He regrets this conversation so much right now. How was he supposed to know the kid was talking about something as serious as this Thieves' business? Shit, it's his goddamn fault, he shouldn't have encouraged him.

And no matter what he says, the conviction in Akira's eyes doesn't falter, and he knows this is something that might turn ugly really soon. Still, he tries to appeal to the kid, tells him to stay safe, to keep it quiet, to not put his life on the line just for the sake of another boy's feelings. He hopes it's enough.

* * *

Of course, the kid doesn't listen to him.

He's in the attic with Akechi, the night before their heist through Niijima's palace, when everything goes to hell.

"You're what?!…"

Sojiro freezes. He hopes against hope, but…

"You bastard! You were manipulating me this whole time?! Is that it?!"

"Goro, I swear to you..."

"You fucking _lied_ to me!"

"No, wait!"

"Fuck you!"

There's hurried steps in the stairs, and Akechi emerges, face red with fury. In the short second before the kid rushes to the door, Sojiro can clearly see the anger and fear and betrayal in his expression.

"Hey, wait!…" He calls, but of course this kid doesn't listen to him either, and the door slams against the opposite wall hard enough to make the glass vibrate, hanging open and letting the cold come in while the kid disappears into the night.

Akira is frozen at the bottom of the stairs, pale and horrified as he stares at the open door in shock. Sojiro gawks at him for a second, then seeing as the boy isn't making any move, he barks: "What are you waiting for? Go after him!"

That's enough to make Akira move again. He rushes to the shop's door and is running outside in a blink, but he lost precious seconds, enough to give the other teen a good head start. So it's no surprise when Akira comes back a few minutes later, looking even more lost and dejected and terrified.

"Shit…" Sojiro mutters, throwing down his dishcloth against the counter. "You told him…"

It's not a question, he doesn't need the kid's confirmation, but still, he scoffs when Akira nods numbly. "God, what were you thinking?… Do you have any idea what it means for you if the cops find out you're a Phantom Thief? With your probation, you'd be sent straight to juvie!"

"I know…"

The repercussions of this are terrifying. Akechi is a detective. If he goes to the police with accusations, it could be enough to allow a search warrant.

"He doesn't have any evidence against you, right? You make sure to throw away anything that could link you to the Phantom Thieves, you hear me?! If the cops come here, we need to make sure they can't find anything against you."

"I know!…"

But it's obvious the legal repercussions are the furthest thing from Akira's mind right now, and as a tear rolls down his cheek, Sojiro feels his old heart break into pieces. He watches, stunned, as the kid starts to shake and fall apart, with loss and grief flooding his eyes.

"Oh, kid…" He whispers with a sigh, hesitates for a second, before gesturing at him. "Come here..."

Akira doesn't protest, he lets Sojiro pull him by the back of the neck and hold him in an awkward one-armed hug, while he pats him on the back with his free hand. The kid's face falls against Sojiro's shoulder, and all he can do is hold him as he starts shuddering and sniffling quietly, the sound muffled by his own shirt.

Sojiro doesn't quite know how to deal with a broken heart, except offering some comfort like this. With the situation as it is, there's not much that can be said or done. So he stands immobile and lets Akira break down, and he keeps holding him until the kid can start putting the pieces of himself back together.

* * *

Later in the evening, Sojiro lights up his fourth cigarette while flicking through his old contacts notebook, resolutely searching for a way out for the kid if things turn sour. Upstairs, Akira finally settled, after he scoured the whole attic in search of incriminating evidence. Rummaging through his stuff has turned up a worrying pile of items that have no place in a teenager's room. Calling cards, of course, but also what looks like bombs, lock-picks, bottles of unmarked pills, and model guns that look far too realistic. Sojiro stared for a long moment at a flask full of liquid mercury, wondering if the kid knows how toxic this shit is.

He's staring at an old colleague's number, one who has contacts in the SIU, wondering if it would be too risky to pull her into the confidence, when Futaba storms into the shop, her laptop under her arm. There are tears in her eyes and a horrified expression on her face, and she speeds towards the attic before Sojiro has the time to ask what's wrong.

"Akira!…" She sobs, climbing the steps four by four, and Sojiro hurries to follow her. "Akira!… You need to hear…"

When he gets to the attic, she already has her headset on Akira's ears, and one hand clenched on the banister, Sojiro watches the kid become pale as death as he listens to whatever is playing on the laptop. Futaba, curled on the seat by his side, cries softly, her hands trembling over her knees.

Silence falls upon the attic as they wait. When Akira removes the headset a minute later, there's a terrible expression on his face. Broken, betrayed, pale and shaken, as if someone had announced his imminent demise. And yet there's a core of steel determination underneath as he raises his eyes at Sojiro, the stance of a leader, despite the pain and the loss.

"Can the others come, please? We need to have a meeting right now. It's urgent."

"Sure…" Sojiro replies, and he can feel the dread start to spread through his old bones.

* * *

_"I know who the leader of the Phantom Thieves is."_

_"Some results at last. I was beginning to lose my patience with you."_

_"My apologies. He proved himself to be… more deceitful than I thought."_

_"I don't care about your excuses. I want you to dispose of him, quietly."_

_"…You mean…?"_

_"Do I need to spell it out? It's time for you to show me that you can really pull your weight in those kind of situations. I have no need for someone who's not capable of dirtying his hands when told to do so."_

_"…Of course not. I'll do as you ask. But I thought you wanted to capture and interrogate him about Isshiki's research."_

_"No, he's proven too slippery to risk it. Involving the police right now would cause too many problems. We'll make use of the others later, they'll be easier to capture once their leader is out of the way."_

_"I understand."_

_"How soon can you take care of him?"_

_"…Tomorrow, during their heist. Now that they sent the calling card, I have an idea of where they're going to strike at Niijima."_

_"You know where to procure an untraceable gun, right?"_

_"Yes, one of my contacts can get me one."_

_"Then I'm counting on you. Dispose of his body as you see fit."_

_"I will, Shido-san."_

* * *

Shit. Shit this is bad.

"I freaking knew it!"

"Ryuji!"

The blond kid has risen to his feet and is pacing Leblanc's open space with fury. Sojiro watches him move like a caged tiger, while he himself stays silent and immobile and tries not to raise alarm by keeping his bloodied hand carefully hidden behind the counter. The shards of the glass that broke in his grip have already been set aside, and he calmly wraps some paper towels around the wound, all the while trying not to reel from the recorded conversation that just played on Futaba's laptop.

What the fuck. This can't be happening. Akechi was supposed to be a good kid, not... not... this.

The kids are still dumbstruck too, but Sakamoto is loud enough for the seven of them.

"I told you this guy was bad news! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

"Ryuji, shut up! Right now!"

"No, I'm not shutting up! No way I'm letting this bastard point an effin' gun at my bro's head!"

Niijima's sister rises from her seat, and god, does she look like the elder right now, all glacial and commanding. "Calm down. We won't let anything happen to Akira. But right now, you're the one who's hurting him."

And shit, Akira looks bad indeed. The kid has crossed his fingers under his chin in a pensive expression, but all of them can see the white articulations and the muscle that jumps in his jaw from his clenched teeth. The coldness in his eyes is a terrifying sight, after the warmth that has inhabited it for all these months. When he speaks, his voice is just as frosty as his eyes.

"No. Ryuji is right. I shouldn't have trusted him. I'm sorry for putting you all in danger. But now, we need to find a plan to turn the tables against him. No way we're letting Akechi win."

Akechi. Not Goro anymore.

"He obviously plans to go after us before or after we go to my sister's palace. I suppose it's not hard to guess where the entrance is, if he has knowledge about cognitive psience. Should we report the heist to another day?"

Akira shakes his head at Niijima's sister before she's even finished.

"No. Just avoiding him won't be enough, he can come after me here, and I'm not risking anyone else's life."

He hates how the kid's gaze slides in his direction for a fraction of second, and he wants to scowl and berate him for thinking it's _his_ place to protect Sojiro. But he doesn't trust his voice yet, and he needs to think, _think_ over the situation carefully before he simply follows his instinct to just drag Futaba and Akira to the airport and put them in the first flight out of the city.

Akechi didn't give any name during the conversation, and the man he was talking to didn't seem interested by the information, just wanted the job done. The situation might still be salvageable, but it's going to be hard.

While the kids establish a strategy until late in the night, Sojiro asks Futaba for her laptop, and listens to the conversation over and over to try and find a solution. But the more he listens to it, to Akechi's cold voice, to the imperceptible silences before his replies, to the careful words and detached tone, the more everything feels wrong, wrong, _wrong_.

* * *

"Are you OK?"

The concerned look in Akira's eyes as he frowns at Sojiro's makeshift bandage should be heart-warming, but instead, it makes him scowl and wonder what's wrong with the kid that he worries over him instead of his own situation.

"I'm fine, just a small cut." He wiggles his fingers at the teen to show him everything's alright, before selecting a jar on the shelf and starting preparations for two cups of coffee. He knows neither of them will be able to sleep tonight, not with the impeding disaster of the incoming day. While the coffee is brewing, Sojiro sighs. "Guess we won't be seeing any cops here. Your friend clearly has a much more shady agenda."

"He's not my friend. He never was. Friends do not betray each other."

How painful it is, to hear the bitterness under the kid's voice. He's far too young to already talk like that. Sojiro waits for a few seconds, before saying carefully:

"You know, with you being a Phantom Thief and not telling him... he might have seen that as a betrayal, too."

Akira lets out a harsh laugh, before murmuring. "Right. Looks like we were both liars then, in the end. He never planned to bring me to justice. He and his employer just wanted me out of the way."

They both reflect on the words for a moment, while Sojiro serves the two coffees and gives one of them to Akira. He joins him at the other side of the bar and sits beside him, both of them carefully avoiding looking at Akechi's usual spot on Sojiro's other side. When they've settled around their respective cups, Sojiro finally speaks.

"Your plan, for tomorrow... I'm not sure I understood everything, with that story of cognitive doubles and everything, but... You're aware of the fact that if things go wrong, you might have to confront him face to face?"

"Yes. But he's not going to win. We'll be in the Metaverse, and over there, we are much stronger than someone who has never set foot in it."

He waits, but Akira doesn't add anything, and he's almost certain the kid knows where he's going, but still, he asks:

"And what happens when you win?"

There's a flash of something indiscernible on the kid's face for a second, before he draws his eyes away and mutters:

"I don't know..."

A silence, then Sojiro asks, brutally honest. "You're gonna kill him?"

The kid flinches, hard, and he can't believe how relieved he is at the reaction.

"I don't know... I don't know, okay?!"

Akira crumples against the counter, a hand gripped tightly through his hair, the other scratching his nail repeatedly against a groove on the counter. He breathes harshly for a few minutes, before admitting in a broken voice.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Sojiro..."

Shit... He's really just a kid, what the fuck is wrong with this world that children like him have to face such an ordeal? And Akechi... Sojiro replays the recorded conversation and his own deductions in his head, bites his tongue, before saying in a low voice.

"You know… I don't claim to know him better than you do, but… I don't think he knows what he's doing either... Kids your age don't go around murdering friends like this unless they're pushed into it. The man he was talking to sure sounded like someone he didn't want to disobey."

"That's no excuse for what he plans to do!" Akira's voice breaks in the middle of his sudden shout, but he doesn't seem to care. "Did you hear him?! He wants to shoot me, then use everyone else to get his hands on Futaba's mom research! This is not okay! This is not what you do to your _friends_! This is not what you do to people you claim to... you claim to _love_ , okay?!"

Shit, what a mess... "I know, I know, but..." Sojiro doesn't quite know where he's going with this, but he needs to get the words out. "He didn't sound quite okay in this phone call, right? The kid might be in over his head in some bullshit situation he can't get out."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Akira asks harshly. "It was his choice to sell me to that man! He could have kept quiet, he didn't have to tell him anything! But he just ran to him and spilled everything, so don't tell me he didn't plan to do it from the start!"

"No, of course not." Except for the fact that Sojiro saw Akechi's face when he ran out of Leblanc, and it wasn't the face of someone eager to share a secret, but the face of someone who was still reeling from a perceived stab in the back. And a wounded animal only knows to strike back at the one who hurt it.

It's not hard to imagine the kid, lost and furious and acting rashly in the rush of the moment, striking back the only way he could at the person who had made a fool out of him and probably used him to get information on the Thieves' investigation, all the while making him believe he had a place in his heart. He knows it's not the case, that Akira was really sincere about this relationship, but pain can distort peoples vision and memories just as easily as that Metaverse shit the kids keep talking about.

So, he sighs, and keeps his voice calm, and hopes it will be enough to soothe Akira's pain so that he won't try to strike back at Akechi too. "Just... don't let your anger blind you and push you into a rash decision, okay? I know he hurt you a lot, but he might be hurting just as much. What you're feeling right now might be the reason he acted like that in the first place."

The kid's eyes refuse to meet his, choosing instead to focus on the groove his fingers are picking at. "I don't want to sympathize with him, after what he did to me..."

He's not shouting anymore, at least, and there's rancor in his voice, but he's calmer, maybe more prone to listen to Sojiro's advice. So he tells him, quietly:

"I'm not telling you to sympathize with him, but… keep an open mind and make sure you know everything before making a decision you might regret. You and he were close, and it wouldn't be so painful if you didn't care for him still. So, if there is a peaceful solution to be found, don't let a broken heart and wounded pride stand in the way, either of you, alright?"

Akira doesn't answer, eyes still fixed on the groove in the wood, so Sojiro gets up with a silent sigh, pats him on the back, and tells him. "Come on, go lay down for a bit. I'll come to get you up when the others return."

* * *

The next day is the most stressful day of Sojiro's long life. He knows he can't do anything for the Thieves when it comes to that cognitive shit, but still, watching Futaba and the kid walk out of Leblanc's door this day is the hardest thing he's ever done.

He spent the whole night thinking and making plans and discarding them just as quick. None of his old contacts would be appropriate in such a situation, and the few that do... he's not desperate enough to send someone after a kid, even to protect his own. That's not the kind of man he is.

No, the only ones who can bring a peaceful resolution to this whole mess are Akira and Akechi. He hopes against all hope that if they ever come face to face, they'll be able to talk it out. He has seen them together during all these months. He knows what they mean to each other. No way any of that was faked. Now, he just has to hope that they won't blind themselves from the truth long enough to kill each other.

He closes the shop after the kids' departure. While customers would provide a distraction from the atrocious wait, he's not in the mood for small-talk. Instead, he takes the seat closest to the door and the clock, lights a cigarette — the second pack since last night, those kids are hurling him towards an early grave — and waits for the minutes to pass.

So many things could go wrong. It's not just Akechi the kids are going against, it's the shadow of Sae Niijima, and if she's as ruthless as the original, he can't imagine what it'll be like to go head to head with her. Futaba explained she doesn't take part in the fights, not directly, but if things go wrong, she'll still be in the thick of it. And Akira... he's the leader, their main asset. Of course he's going to be on the front line...

The minutes tick by, one by one, and Sojiro curses and scrubs at his eyes and feels sick from the fear. His kids are out there, fighting monsters and corrupted-prosecutors and lovers-turned-murderers, and he's just waiting for them to come home and slowly going mad from the worry.

And then there's a knock at the door, and he almost falls from how quick he jumps out of his chair. Futaba is peering through the glass, eyes wide, with shadowy silhouettes behind her, and as soon as Sojiro unlocks the door she jumps at him and hugs him tightly, and he can't help himself from making a sound like a sob of relief as he squeezes her in his arms.

Takamaki enters after her, followed by Sakamoto, and all of them seem numb and tired and quiet. He doesn't dare to ask, and waits with bated breath as they trickle into the shop one by one. Until at last, he sees Akira's mop of hair appear behind Kitagawa shoulder, and he's alive, God, he's alive, and Akechi is with him half-collapsed against his shoulder, but he's alive too, and Sojiro feels faint from the relief, and he discreetly grabs the counter with one hand to steady himself, never letting go of Futaba with the other.

The group is quiet, strangely subdued, and everyone throws furtive glances at Akira and Akechi. The last one, mostly. The kid looks half-dead, not from injuries but exhaustion, and he's barely coherent, leaning all his weight against Akira's side, eyes unfocused and blinking sluggishly, head rolling on Akira's shoulder as if he barely has the strength to keep it there.

For his part, Akira looks exhausted too, but the emotion in his eyes is a mix of concern and relief. He glances at Sojiro, then, without a word, he carefully drags his friend to the attic above. The rest of the team lets them go without a protest, and they all collapse into the nearest booth.

Sakamoto is the first one to break the silence, with a small glance in Sojiro's direction.

"My mom and Haru's driver are coming to pick us up soon... Yusuke is staying over with me tonight, and Makoto and Ann are spending the night at Haru's place..."

Sojiro has millions of questions for them, but he can see how tired they are, and that they're not in any state to be interrogated right now. He desperately wants to know what happened, but instead, he forces himself to keep his mouth shut, and simply nods at the kid in acknowledgment. They're safe, all of them. The rest can wait tomorrow. Everyone around the table seems to be relieved when he doesn't ask questions.

Still, he throws a glance and catches the younger Niijima's eye. She blinks, and gives him a small nod with an imperceptible smile, and for now, that's enough of an answer. Things are alright. He can relax.

The blond kid's mom arrives soon after and both boys leave the café to join her at her car. A few minutes later, it's the girls' turn to leave. Despite the exhaustion, they still take the time to thank him for his hospitality and promise him and Futaba they'll be back in the morning, once everyone has rested for a bit.

Sojiro turns to Futaba, who has been blinking sluggishly for the last few minutes. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I'm keeping Mona with me." She says as she grabs the cat, and the poor thing meows in half-hearted protest before flopping in her arms.

"They'll be okay, don't worry." She replies to it. "We need to give them some space, for now."

Despite her words being addressed to the cat, Sojiro hears them loud and clear. But still, he walks Futaba back to their house, and once he's made sure she's okay, and that she doesn't need him to stay with her, he hurries back to the shop. It's stupid, he knows, Akechi didn't seem in any state to attack anybody, but for his sake of mind, Sojiro plans to spend another night keeping vigil at Leblanc, just to be sure.

Akira is downstairs when he arrives, immobile and staring at the closed fridge, looking lost and adrift in the low light of the kitchen. Sojiro is not sure why the quote about coffee that is stuck to the fridge seems suddenly the target of so much focus. But Akira jumps a little when Sojiro opens the door, and he stares at him as if he's just come out from a dream.

Sojiro takes the time to close the door again, before he turns towards him and murmurs.

"How is he?"

Akira's eyes drift towards the staircase, mind a million miles away, as he replies in a low voice.

"He's resting for now… When he wakes, can I give him something to eat? And maybe some tea? I don't think coffee is a good idea right now…"

"Of course…" For a minute, Sojiro stares at him, then he walks a bit farther into the shop, takes a seat at one of the booths, and pats the table in front of him as he asks hesitantly. "…Come on. Sit with me for a minute."

The clock ticks in the corner of the room, and Akira stands awkwardly in the middle of the café, before he drags himself to the opposite seat and sags against the upholstery. His hands are shaking, and Sojiro waits patiently until he starts talking.

"I don't know what happened…" The kid says in a quiet voice. "I'm not sure… From the start, we weren't careful enough. He managed to follow us into the Metaverse. He ambushed us. He… he had a gun, and he…"

Akira shakes his head, and the anxiety that blooms in his eyes seizes at Sojiro's heart.

"It was terrifying... He told us things about himself, he shouted, and all the while, he had that gun pointed at my face, and all I could think about was that I wanted him back, that I didn't want us to fight, that I just wanted to hold him until every bad thing had gone away. And… I don't know what came over me, but I just... I just told him that."

Akira brushed a hand through his hair, before laughing dejectedly. "You should have seen his face, Sojiro… It was as if I had punched him in the nose. He started screaming at me, awful words that I don't even want to remember, but there was something in his eyes, as if he was terrified and completely lost, and he wasn't even pointing the gun at us anymore... We could have done something then, but I remembered what you told me, about him being in over his head in something he couldn't control. So, I... I told the others to wait. Just wait. Give him a moment."

The kid can't look him in the eye as he relates the events, but Sojiro feels a bit of relief, that Akira managed to think before acting, that he listened to him and followed his advice at such a critical moment. That's good. He wasn't sure the kid would heed his words, with how personal the situation was, but... he's proud of him.

Akira has tensed, though, and the rest of the story doesn't go as well as he hoped.

"Goro... I think... he really, really needed to get it out, everything he said. He was even starting to calm down, but... but then… then we were attacked by shadows. Makoto's sister, she was with them, and she came at us when we weren't ready. The others, they got hurt... and I tried to protect them all but she hit me and sent me into a wall and Goro, he… he just lost it... went completely berserk…"

As Akira rambles in an increasingly shaking voice, Sojiro stays silent, transfixed by his strange and terrifying story. His fingers hurt from how tight he's been clasping them on the table, and only the fact that Akira is here, unharmed and safe, prevents him from going into a state of panic.

"He... well… awoke to his... err... persona… I mean, he fought with Sae… It was brutal. I think he would have killed her, had we not managed to stop him in time. But… we talked to him, and he heard us through the anger, and he... he let go of her." Akira relaxes imperceptibly, and finishes in a soft voice. "The fight left him completely drained, so... we grabbed the treasure, ran all the way out, and then, we came back straight here. And now..."

He makes a vague gesture with his hands, a small mirthless smile on his face, and says in a voice underlined with disbelief and confusion. "Now he's sleeping upstairs, and I have no idea what he's going to say when he wakes up, and what I'm going to do about it."

Sojiro sighs, worried gaze drifting towards the stairwell. "…I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to talk to him and tell him everything's gonna be alright. The kid must be confused as hell right now, with what you say happened to him. You need to be there for him."

"I know…" Akira grabs at a strand of hair and twirls it between his fingers, eyes far away. "He'll definitely need our help. What happened to him in the palace… we went through it too, and it's fucking terrifying when you have no idea what's going on..."

Sojiro is tired, and if he admits it to himself, he's still shaken by the kid's story, so, this once, he doesn't scold him about the profanities. The kid should have a free pass, at least for tonight.

"Yes, I can imagine such an ordeal must be quite traumatizing." He can certainly recall the wild look in Akira's eyes when he came back from his first day at Shujin; the day everything started for them, from what he gathered later. "That, and the fact that he went against his employer's orders to save your skin. What you told him was enough to make him question his convictions, and that's not an easy thing to go through. He will need a good friend to listen to him."

"Yeah..."

He stares at the kid for a moment, before rising from his seat and coming to his side of the booth to pat him on the shoulder.

"Be there for him, okay? I'm sure things are going to work out in the end."

Akira nods, before raising his head and meeting his eyes, and there's warmth again in those gray irises of his. "Thanks, Sojiro..."

Oh god, this is getting too emotional for him. He grumbles and waves the kid towards the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah. Well. Go on. I'll prepare some sandwiches for you both, for when you're okay enough to eat."

The kid goes back upstairs, and while he's working in the kitchen, Sojiro can hear low-voiced conversations coming from above. Then the sound of quiet weeping, and gentle and soothing murmurs said in a voice breaking with emotion. Silence, broken by sniffles and whispers. A small laugh, weak from the tears but lined with hope, too.

He finishes the sandwiches, and puts them in the fridge. Tiredness is catching up to Sojiro. It's been almost 48h ever since he last slept, and damn, he's past the age where he can do this kind of things anymore. He hesitates for a moment, but... he thinks they're going to be okay, now. So, he turns off the lights of the shop, grabs his jacket, his hat and his keys, and leaves them alone until morning.

* * *

When they come down to join him, a few minutes after he arrives at Leblanc the next day, Sojiro does a double take at Akechi.

The kid looks like a mess. Gone is the careful image of the detective prince. Instead, he's left with a teenager with sunken eyes and messy hair and slouched posture and wrecked life. Reminds him of someone, just a few months ago.

He's quiet, too, looking like a lost soul, not quite sure where he stands and how to act. Sojiro takes one look at the guilt in his eyes, and sees him open his mouth, and cuts him off immediately. "No, no, no need for that."

Akechi frowns, and talks anyway. "I'm sorry for..."

"I said no need for that. You don't have to..."

The kid's gaze hardens, and he raises his voice to talk over Sojiro.

"I'm sorry for causing so much trouble, Sakura-san."

Sojiro stares at him flatly, before he lets out a frustrated sigh. "...Jesus, kid. You're too stubborn for your own good..."

It sounds strange, Akechi's pleasant voice over such a dejected expression. Sojiro shakes his head, closes his newspaper, and gestures at the both of them. "Well don't just stand there. Come and give me a hand."

Akira is prompt to obey, but the other kid stands beside the counter with slightly widened eyes, as if he's not sure he heard correctly. Sojiro throws him an apron, and he grabs at it by reflex, but it's not until Akira nudges him with a smile that the kid starts to move again, following his instructions hesitantly, and soon enough, the both of them are cutting vegetables at the counter, while he himself starts preparing enough rice to feed a regiment.

"I swear," Sojiro mumbles. "You kids are going to eat me out of house and home... Eight mouths to feed, plus the cat. At least your lady friend brings me vegetables sometimes."

"Haru is awesome." Akira says with a quiet smile, as he tips the content of his cutting board into a bowl. After a few seconds, the other kid imitates him dutifully.

The two of them works silently, and little by little, the tension in Akechi's shoulders seems to melt away. Akira keeps bumping their hips together each time he moves to his side, too, and Sojiro keeps pretending he doesn't notice the blush and the smile on the other boy's face. God, this is what he gets for playing adviser to teenagers in love.

The rest of the kids trickle into Leblanc over the course of the next hour. As soon as they're all here, they pile themselves in their usual booth. There's tension in the room, and they're all covertly watching Akechi, who sits at the bar facing them. Akira stands by his side, holding his hand.

"So..." Akechi starts awkwardly, eyes guarded and already building walls around him.

Niijima's sister twists her fingers around each others, and stays silent.

Sakamoto frowns, and the line of his pinched lips flattens even more.

In the silence, the boiling of the rice cooker is almost deafening.

Sojiro is ready to groan and intervene, when Akira beats him to it. "Okay, that's enough."

He stands straight, and there's a no-nonsense tone in his voice that immediately drags the attention of the whole band of teenagers to him. He glowers at them all. "We all know what happened yesterday, we were all there, and yeah, it sucked, but we got through it, _all together_."

The emphasis is underlined with a small nod in the direction of Akechi, and Akira immediately continues. "Right now, everyone is unhappy with the situation, but this is what it is now: we're all in the same boat, so we've gotta start working together if we want to keep each others safe."

Sakamoto seems to have something to say to this, but his female counterpart jabs him in the ribs with her elbow and he immediately shuts his mouth. Akira has noticed the exchange, though, and he turns towards them, voice still firm, but without accusation.

"If someone has problems with this, we'll talk it out, and we'll find a solution that suits everyone, but until then, we have a much bigger fish to fry. So we're going to stop squabbling, and get along, and start acting like grown-ups instead of bickering children. Is that clear?"

There's a concert of nods from the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, and they all look sufficiently chastised. Akira nods in turn, and fuck, Sojiro has never been prouder of him that he is, right now.

As Akechi and the rest of the Phantom Thieves start exchanging hesitant apologies and welcoming words that sound sincere enough, Akira glances at Sojiro. Just a second, but it's enough for Sojiro to softly nod in approval, and when Akira faces the rest of the group again, he holds his shoulders higher, and there's a quiet assurance in his whole posture that works just as well as words to soothe the Thieves and make everyone slowly relax. When everyone has settled he turns towards Akechi, and tips his head.

"Now. Goro, if you would?"

The both of them trade glances and Akechi's hand tightens around Akira's for a few seconds, before he faces the rest of the Thieves again. When he speaks, his voice is rough and low, but the determination and steel in his tone is familiar, and Sojiro can see it echo in Akira's eyes.

"I want us to change the heart of Masayoshi Shido. My father."

* * *

Spring is here again. He's glad. Despite the heater, Leblanc is always a bit too cold during winter, so it's nice to see temperatures rise again. Still, he can't believe it's already been a year since the kid arrived in Tokyo. So many things happened since then, sometimes Sojiro thinks most of it was the result of some fever dream. He still has a hard time wrapping his head around his kids facing down a fucking god and emerging victorious.

And now, it's March again. Just one month remaining until the kid's probation ends, and he's supposed to go back to his hometown.

Yeah. Right. As if Sojiro will let that happen without putting his foot down.

He knows what's waiting for him over there: distant parents who barely checked on him during his stay in Tokyo, new rumors about "that delinquent kid", loneliness and ostracization. The kid's happy here. He's doing good in his studies, has gotten used to his school. He's made friends, found a boyfriend, and even got saddled with a little sister. There's no need to uproot him a second time if Sojiro can help it. As far as he's concerned, Akira has a place here under Sojiro's roof, just like Futaba, and just like Goro.

The three of them are watching some anime on Leblanc's TV right now, squashed together in a seat meant for two, sharing a blanket like a group of old grandmas — they even have the damn cat sprawled over their laps — yet they look more like kids than they ever have. Futaba is gorging herself on some bacon-flavor monstrosities ( _"You don't know what you're missing, they're delicious. Whelps, more for me!"_ ). Goro seems outraged at the villain's nefarious plot ( _"Look at that, can you believe he survived for three seasons?!"_ ). And Akira is sprawled lazily against his boyfriend's arm, as boneless as the cat ( _"Stop moving your hand, I can't see a thing..."_ ). And the three of them stare at the TV with rapt attention, bickering over the story and the blanket and the last Pocky.

Sojiro watches them from the kitchen with a gruff smile. They seem happy enough, he thinks. Not perfect, and the three of them are still fighting with their own traumas, but they're doing better, day by day. He's not sure when he's unofficially adopted a second kid, never mind a third, but well... Sojiro's always been good at taking new situations in stride.

**Author's Note:**

> From the 3D model of Café Leblanc, the sign on the fridge is the Italian translation of a quote from Talleyrand about coffee: "Nero come il diavolo, caldo come l'inferno, puro come un angelo, dolce come l'amore." In English: "Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love." Might work for someone else in Akira's eyes, too, now that that person has gained a Metaverse outfit ;-)


End file.
